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MCLEAN, VA. — It’s a case that involves a secret Navy contract to build hundreds of untraceable rifle silencers, ostensibly for the branch’s elite Seal Team Six. Now defense lawyers say that evidence in the case has been deliberately destroyed.

Cailfornia mechanic Mark Stuart Landersman has been charged in federal court in Alexandria with conspiracy to manufacture unlicensed firearms. He was arraigned Thursday.

Landersman’s attorney, John Zwerling, has asked the judge to dismiss the case for government misconduct. He says a whistleblower has come forward with allegations that documents relevant to the case have been shredded and burned in recent weeks. The whistleblower’s affidavit has been sealed.

Zwerling says the judge is taking the allegations of destroyed evidence seriously and has authorized subpoenas to get to the bottom of it.